


Blush Pink Affirmations

by Nomorestoriesfriends



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Black Reader, F/M, My First AO3 Post, Please Don't Hate Me, Undercover, Wedding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:22:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25788010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nomorestoriesfriends/pseuds/Nomorestoriesfriends
Summary: Every time you walked into the office, you reminded yourself to expect the unexpected and made sure your go bag was stocked up with bath bombs. And as corny and contradicting as it sounds, it worked (or at least made things better).Unfortunately, this case had taken several surprising turns over the past few days. And nothing really prepares you for trying on wedding dresses that cost more than your car in the hopes of luring a killer addicted to butchering all the blushing brides in Manhattan.
Relationships: Aaron Hotchner/Reader, Aaron Hotchner/You
Comments: 3
Kudos: 29





	Blush Pink Affirmations

It seemed like the daily affirmations Garcia gave you to practice were destined to fail. After a particularly bad case that left you wondering whether your faith in humanity still existed, she had given you a big pep talk and her favorite affirmations. And glittery bath bombs to take home. You didn’t question why she had them stacked in her desk drawer but you figured it came from a place of love and extreme preparation. 

Now every time you walked into the office, you reminded yourself to expect the unexpected and made sure your go bag was stocked up with bath bombs. And as corny and contradicting as it sounds, it worked (or at least made things better). 

Unfortunately, this case had taken several surprising turns over the past few days. And nothing really prepares you for trying on wedding dresses that cost more than your car in the hopes of luring a killer addicted to butchering all the blushing brides in Manhattan. 

Admittedly, being undercover wasn’t something that was all that unfamiliar to you. Before you came to the BAU, you had done undercover work as a LA officer. But you had slowly been withering away undercover, not being able to be yourself or directly apprehend the criminals you spent the majority of your time around. It was nice to be yourself, even if it was in a room of profilers that seemed to know you better than yourself. Even when dealing with the disturbing criminals your unit caught, it was somehow still...nice. It made you question your sanity more than a few times but you soaked it away with glitter and smoothing smells of peppermint like Garcia instructed. 

Needless to say, when you got on the plane this morning, you hadn’t expected to end up here. Staring at yourself in the mirror, wondering when was the last time you had your hair pressed and how long it would even last in the field. While you loved your natural hair, you had forgotten how cute you looked with a good press. 

The heat damage & time it took to maintain wasn’t so cute though. And you didn’t really feel like sweating out your hair in front of everyone on a case. You snort to yourself. Morgan, despite being your safe space at times, wouldn’t let you live it down if your hair puffed out during a case. 

“ (Y/L/N), are you okay?” Emily asks with concern while peering over your right shoulder. 

It takes you a while to register her question, still looking at your reflection and not really recognizing the woman in front of you. 

You were mildly confused why Hotch asked you to go undercover. Yeah, you had the experience in undercover work. But you weren’t totally sure you were the killers type. Your immediate choice when the idea of luring the killer came up was JJ. She could nail the beautiful bride look without trying. She already had the ring to prove it. And she looked eerily similar to some of the victims. 

You finally notice her waving her arms at you in the mirror. You shake your head and answer, “I’m fine Emily, just lost in thought. It’s been a while since I’ve been to a hair salon.”  
She gives you one of her looks but nods and heads back to the waiting chairs and opens up a magazine. 

You couldn’t get over the feeling that this was a horrible plan. But you had to trust your team. Everyone was working hard on the profile to figure out who this sicko was before anyone (you) or a real bride had to be put in the line of fire. All you had to do was get pampered up and walk down an aisle so you tried to not show how much you disliked your involvement in the plan. 

It wasn’t that you were worried about being bait. There were safety precautions in place to make sure you’d be as safe as possible. And while you’d never admit this to the team, if your danger and subsequent death led to the capture of this bastard, you didn’t really mind. Normally, your slight disregard for your life wasn’t so present. But this case had gotten under your skin and you wanted more than anything to put this killer away. 

You had to laugh to yourself. Maybe Hotch chose you because he sensed that. He knew you wouldn’t mind being disposable for a few hours. It would’ve hurt more if it wasn’t true. But everyone else had someone at home that expected them back safely. And you didn’t. 

The hairdresser was putting on the final touches, curling your last strand. You smile despite the dark place your mind had wandered. Whatever happens today, at least your hair looked cute. Emily approaches you with a smile and says, “You look gorgeous (Y/N). I don’t think I’ve ever seen your hair straight.” 

You laugh a little and get up to leave while Emily leans over to pay the hairdresser. 

“I haven’t gotten it done in a hot second. It’s too much effort while traveling. I usually just end up throwing my hair up into a pineapple.” Which was true. It was sad. You stop to dig into your pocket for your wallet and turn to the hairdresser. 

“Here’s something a little extra. I just want to thank you for making me look so good. I feel,” you pause. What was the word again? You breathe out, “beautiful.” 

You quickly press a 20 into her hand and dash out the front door before anyone could refuse or stop you. You wait outside for Emily to finish up with pleasantries and look up at the sky. A perfect day for a wedding. The sky is a cool blue and there’s a pleasant breeze. The sun, bright but not blinding. Your mother would've loved it. 

“Hey, what was that in there? You know the BAU has it covered.”

“I know. I just wanted to do something special for her. She deserved it. Come on, we’ve got a makeup appointment to go to.” You smile brightly and walk down the sidewalk, heading for the SUV. Emily walks with you in silence, her eyes never leaving your face. 

“I haven’t gotten my makeup done professionally since prom. This will be fun. Although, I think I’ll probably do my own makeup for my real wedding. Well,” you think that might be stressful for your wedding day. “ Maybe not. I don’t know. What would you do for yours?”

You don’t hear a response. You look towards Emily and meet her eyes. She looks at you as if waiting for you to confess.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I’m just waiting for you to tell me what’s wrong. You’re rambling like Reid.”

You want to laugh. But you can’t. 

“Em, I promise I’m fine” you say calmly as you climb into the SUV. Emily looks over to you from the driver seat and sighs deeply. 

“Listen, if you’re not feeling alright or you’re not comfortable with the plan, we’ll call it off. It’s okay if you don’t want to do this.” 

You try not to roll your eyes. Emily was one of the few members of the team who could read you like it was nothing and had no qualms bringing up what she noticed. And while you knew she meant well, this was the last thing you needed. You knew if she saw any hesitation, she would tell Hotch. And you didn’t want Hotch to think you were unable to do your job. Four years on the job hadn’t cured your inferiority complex and you didn’t want to disappoint anyone. 

“Em, I understand your concern. But I’m fine. I used to do undercover work all the time. We have a schedule to keep.”

You calmly buckle your seat belt and wait for her to do the same. You could feel a soft resentment rise in your chest the longer she stared at you. You were really starting to hate this case. You hear the click, let out a sigh and look out the window and away from Emily.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi friends,
> 
> I apologize for any mistakes. I haven’t written a fanfic in at least 4 years so happy but nervous to be back. I used to utilize only fanfiction.net so this is also a new platform for uploading. This should be a relatively short story, probably 5 chapters max. Let me know if you have any thoughts. I hope you guys enjoy it


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